


What Once Was

by GalaxyMaster360



Series: Zexal Month 2019 [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-09-07 00:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20300356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyMaster360/pseuds/GalaxyMaster360
Summary: Things had changed when their father Byron had disappeared years ago, and things changed even more when he came back.





	1. Return

**Author's Note:**

> Another late Zexal month prompt, whoops. I blame school.

The mansion was dark and dusty, the only light coming through dirty windows covered in red silk curtains. It was fitting honestly, the mood of the house matched Christopher’s quite well. He walked through the halls, his feet making gentle knocks on the old hardwood. He looked at the old paintings that stared back at him with piercing eyes and sideways glances. Old members of the pristine Arclight family, his ancestors who he had never met nor knew the names of but still adorned their walls.

He took a left, the hallway looking the same as the last. How fun it was to get lost in the great mansion as a child, the halls seeming endless and the adventures and secrets to be uncovered never ceasing.

Two rights ahead he found himself in a familiar room, the living room. The vibrant red couch once lit by the flames of the orange fire dancing in the fireplace seemed faded and bleak, the whole room seeming cold and small. Above the empty fireplace held a picture of his old family, the smiling happy one with baby Michael in Chris’ arms and Thomas beside them giggling while hugging their dog. In the middle their father sat, head held high with a proud smile on his face. He missed that smile so much. 

Looking away he grimaced at the memories resurfacing, memories taken away from him in just weeks, days, hours, seconds. The tears of joy and laughter became tears of sadness as his brothers were ripped from his arms. He couldn’t have done anything back then, he could do barely anything now. 

He sighed and continued on, walking down a few more old halls before coming to a dark wooden door. He took out a small brass key designed with simple engravings from his pocket and fit it into the keyhole. The door opened with a creek.

Inside was a matching set of drawers and a desk, on top neat stacks of paper and star maps. Beside it was a long silver telescope, pointed upward towards a curtained window.

He approached the queen-sized bed covered in velvet blue blankets and sheets and set his suitcase down. He sat beside it and held his hands on his head for a short moment.  
Would he even be able to adopt Thomas and Michael? Would they be happy to see him? It was so long and they’ve grown so much, they would be mere strangers by now.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

“Christopher?” A feminine voice called,”V are you in there?”

“Yes, come in father.”

The door creaks open and in walks a small boy in a blue outfit, his bleach blonde hair tied into a neat ponytail laid across his shoulder. His face was half covered by a metal mask carved in a crown-like shape. His eye was covered by a red lens, his mouth by a fake one carved into a creepy smile.

“It’s strange to be back home isn’t it?”

He states slowly walking closer to Chris. He stands in front of him and sighs, pushing back to suitcase and taking a seat next to his son.

“Almost like the old times.”

Christopher stared blankly for a moment and nodded. The two sat in silence for a moment before Tron stood back up.

“It’s about time to go get Thomas and Michael, I’m sure they’ll be eager to see you after all this time.”

“Of course, it’s been so long, I wonder how they look now that they’ve grown.”

Tron nodded and Chris stood up as well, opening his suitcase and taking out a few important papers. Neatly holding them in his pale slender hands he began to walk towards the door and back through the mansion. This time Tron followed him close behind.

“Good luck, make sure not to tell them too much about me, they will know all about what happened soon.”

Chris nodded and left the huge mansion, his hair blowing in the wind as he entered the cab waiting for him outside.

Inside Tron watched the car pull away. His lips formed a thin line, but his gold eyes gave nothing away of what he was feeling.


	2. Home

The walls at the orphanage were pale and bleak, paint chipping where the walls met the windowsill. The chilled air outside frosted the glass as Thomas Arclight looked outside, a bored expression on his face as nothing in particular interested him. Every now and then the sound of pages flipping could be heard from his younger brother Michael, who was looking through a history themed magazine for the 20th time. He sighed and shut the pages with a thump, shifting on the bed to a more comfortable position.

“This place gets boring sometimes.” 

“Sometimes?” Thomas shifted his vision over to his younger brother. “I was bored the second we walked in here, who thought such a dreary place like this was good to keep children in, honestly.” Thomas stood up and began to approach his brother, his hands waving in the air as he continued his speech.

“It doesn’t take a genius to see all the children here are sad and miserable, bored out of their minds from the lack of things to do and overall how awful and run down this place looks.”

He sat down beside Michael, his hand grabbing his brother’s and squeezing it comfortably.

“We’ll get out of here soon, it’s just three more years until I can move out and take you with me, we’ll live on the money my dueling career will make, things will get better.”

Michael looked up at his older brother and nodded, three years. What a long time. They had been here long enough, the days ticking away like molasses. They usually kept to themselves, the familiarity bringing both comfort. Sometimes if he closed his eyes, Michael could pretend to be back at home, Thomas next to him playing with their dog, Christopher sitting nearby in a chair flipping through a heavy book, and their father walking into the room holding tea and cookies for all of them.

That could never come back, their father disappearing and being presumed dead, Christopher leaving them to find out the truth, it was all gone. He wondered if their house was even still there, no one tending to it could lead it to become weathered, the insides being dark and dusted after so long with no care.

Just then a caretaker entered the room, ushering both the boys out and down the long hallways. When Thomas pressed her on what was the rush, but she didn’t answer, just smiled and led them along.

A few turns and down creaky wooden stairs later, they arrived in the lobby. There sitting in a chair was a man with long silver locks, his frosty blue eyes appearing cold and tired. 

“Christopher..?” Thomas asked, almost as if he was seeing things. Chris turned to them with a face full of shock, then a small smile. Both boys immediately ran to him and wrapped their arms around his long torso. Chris hugged back, his arms awkwardly embracing both the boys.

“Did you find father?” Thomas asked as soon as the contact was broken. Chris’ pleasant expression was replaced with a grave face. He cleared his throat sharply and whispered,”I’ll tell you later, you will understand very soon.” Both boys were shocked yet intrigued. Chris walked past them and signed one last paper at the desk before walking back over to them and taking their hands.

They walked out into the chilled air, Michael shivering and Chris wrapping his arm around the other to help. When they got into the car Chris told the driver their destination and put on his seatbelt. The heater was on full blast, which Michael was thankful for.

The car ride was spent in an awkward silence, the three not knowing what to say for it had been so long. When they arrived at the house Chris grabbed their hands again and walked them quickly to the door. The old mansion loomed over them, the windows dark and lifeless. A gold key was retrieved out of Chris’ pocket and slipped into the lock, the door swiftly opening to a dark and empty parlor. 

Chris found the light switch and flicked it on, the lights illuminating the once silent mansion. A huge smile appeared on both the boy’s faces, tears of happiness threatening to spill over. They were home, finally home, life could finally go back to normal, as if it were a nightmare they had just been woken from.

“Come along.” Chris stated beginning to walk down the dormant halls. Thomas and Michael followed happily, the two admiring the old hallways they ran through as children. They gasped and exchanged how great it was to be back, the place looking untouched, preserved until they were to return. Christopher said nothing, his face expressionless as he led them onward.

They finally arrived in their living room, Thomas running and collapsing on the couch, and Michael following shortly after. Chris turned on the chandelier and sat beside them, clearing his throat to gain his brothers’ attention.

Both sat up and looked at him with curious eyes. 

“So, concerning our father,” His eyes were distant, like they were searching for the correct words to say,”He is... alive, in a way.”

Thomas and Michael’s breath stopped, they leaned forward, wanting to hear the rest, wanting to know where he was and what he went through.

“He was...used,” He let out a big exhale,”By Dr.Faker. When they left on the expedition, he was sacrificed, lost to another universe.”

Another pause. Thomas began to laugh. Michael gave him a quizzical look and Christopher glared daggers. His laughing stopped as he looked up at his elder brother.

“Chris, you can’t be serious, that’s absolutely ridiculous, please tell us what really happened.”

“Oh no that’s the truth.” A strange, feminine voice called. The two boys turned and gasped at the sight in front of them.

There stood a boy, who looked around the age of 8. His hair was a bleach blonde color, with a braid over his right shoulder. His clothes of similar color and style to their father’s, but most noticeably, half his face was a galactic void, his left eye replaced with a spiraling black hole.

Chris looked down in anger, Thomas’ face was filled with shock and disbelief. He clenched his fists.

“This can’t be true- how could- who are you!” He demanded, standing up from his place on the couch.

“I already told you Thomas, I am your father, Byron Arclight, or at least I was, until I was betrayed and sent to another dimension. For years I wandered between dimensions, the long hell-ish journey changing my form into what it is today.”

He turned towards the window and took a step forward, ripping the curtain from the window. Heartland Tower stuck out in the middle of the city, standing tall compared to the other buildings. Tron glared directly at it, his eyes filled with venom.

“Dr.Faker…” He turned back towards his sons,”He is the reason our family has been torn apart all these years, but now, we can get our revenge. We can become what we once were again, but we can only do it after making Faker go through every last bit of the pain and suffering we have endured!”


End file.
